Inside St. Louis' coolest office spaces

Take a look inside some of the most unique office spaces in the region and the features that make them stand out. Click on the photo to see what each office looks like.

iDX

Simplicity and flexibility were the main ideas behind idX Corp.’s office layout in Earth City. The 30,000-square-foot space, according to Vice President of Marketing and Communications Lin Courtois, promotes creativity and collaboration at the retail fixtures and manufacturing company. The office reflects the global reach of idX with a multilingual welcome wall and a custom-made world map in the main conference room, as well as photography from around the world displayed in the hallways, Courtois said. The space also draws influences from other idX offices, including the Chicago design office.

“The moment someone steps off the elevator, they are able to see that this is truly a place where ideas and expertise intersect,” she said.

idX moved into the office in February 2015 after the company had outgrown its old headquarters space down the street. Courtois said the new space, which houses the St. Louis and corporate divisions of the company, is about 50 percent larger that the previous office and cost about $1.6 million to complete.

Architect Arc Vision was tapped for the design and general contractor Duke Construction completed the build-out. idX also worked with Cozad Commercial Real Estate to identify the location and Metro Lighting provided many unique lighting fixtures, she said.

Inside the office, idX incorporates commonly used materials that are a part of the company’s portfolio of products. The office features the brand’s signature shades of red, white, black and gray played against reclaimed wood tables and metal accents. The Earth City office holds a reception area, large flex space, two conference rooms, a high-tech kitchen, a showroom and a dedicated training area, as well as office and work areas. Courtois said technology plays a significant part in the new office, with large monitors positioned in management offices and USB outlets in conference rooms.

idX, which had estimated revenue of $365 million in 2015 and counts customers such as Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Tesla, Samsung, Calvin Klein and Disney, also built a retail store-sized showroom, workout facility and showers for its employees in a nearby warehouse as part of the renovations, she said.

“We’ve done a good job of fostering good collaboration and not housing associates in some vanilla box,” Courtois said. “The space is very creative and multifunctional so it is adaptable to any type of meeting.”

Carmody MacDonald

Sure, the office expansion at Clayton-based law firm Carmody MacDonald added 16,000 square feet of space for a total of 32,000 square feet at the PNC Building. But the most unique feature of the work might be the grand stairway that connects the 17th and 18th floors, according to Erin Reinert, marketing assistant.

“The stairway leads to an atrium space that we now use to host receptions, happy hours and alumni events with the local law schools,” she said. “It’s a great place for our attorneys to meet with our clients and host different events that we previously couldn’t do.”

Before the expansion, the law firm had offices on the 18th floor and part of the building’s 16th floor with no connections other than the outside stairwells and elevator. After the $2.35 million build-out, which included a full floor of new space on level 17 and a redesign of the 18th floor, employees now enjoy a unified office space with easy access to every firm department, Reinert said.

Architecture work was completed by Nehring Design, design work was done by Castle Design and the build-out by ISC Contracting.

Another unique feature of the expansion is a customizable boardroom where seats and desks can be arranged for different groups.

The room includes a large, high-definition projector synced with a computer that can connect mobile devices and hard drives. Reinert said the features enable convenient meetings with vendors and clients or in-house training.

The renovations took a year to complete before staff moved into the expanded space in May 2015. During the work, Carmody MacDonald leased additional space in the building to facilitate employees, Reinert said.

Gray Design Group

A full redesign and renovation of Gray Design Group’s Maplewood office has helped the architectural firm cut costs and recruit new employees.

Principal and Vice President Toby Heddinghaus said the $700,000 office renovation took four months to complete before employees were able to occupy the 14,000-square-foot space in October 2014.

Gray itself served as the architect and LANDCO Construction was the builder of the space that now features only one individual office.

“Before the renovation, we had a lot of private offices and no kitchen space,” Heddinghaus said. “We wanted to make it a more collaborative and open studio while focusing on the work/cafe space.”

Gray, which had 2015 revenue of $6.8 million, did that by positioning the cafe in the center of the office. Now, employees gravitate toward the cafe, and the office layout promotes more working lunches and impromptu meetings. “Just like the kitchen is really the gathering space of your home, the office is no different,” Heddinghaus said.

In addition, designers took a green approach when rethinking the Gray office. The project earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification for commercial interiors by incorporating energy-efficient LED lighting, daylight-harvesting sensors and water-saving fixtures as well as Energy Star-certified equipment and appliances, he said.

Since the redesign, Gray has increased its headcount by 35 percent to 37 employees. Heddinghaus said the space has been attractive to new employees during the interview process.

“We’ve gotten a lot of great feedback, and a lot of new hires say the redesigned office was a big factor in why they came towork for Gray Design Group,” he said.